Gallup: More Americans Worried About Global Warming 15 Years Ago

(CNSNews.com) – On 21 occasions over the past 26 years, Gallup has asked Americans how much they worried about global warming/climate change.

According to the poll results, significantly fewer Americans worry about global warming/climate change now than did fifteen years ago.

In its most recent survey, conducted March 5-8, Gallup asked 1,025 adults whether they worried “a great deal, a fair amount, only a little, or not at all” about a number of environmental issues including “global warming” or “global warming or climate change.”

32 percent said they worried about it a “great deal” and 23 percent said they worried about it a “fair amount,” making a combined total of 55 percent who said they worried about it a great deal or fair amount. 21 percent said they worried about it only a little and 24 percent said they worried about it not at all, making a combined 45 percent who worried about it only a little or not at all.

In 2014, a combined 56 percent said they worried about global warming a great deal or fair amount, and, in 2013, a combined 58 percent said they worried about global warming a great deal or fair amount.

According to the Gallup surveys, the percentage of Americans worried about global warming peaked in 2000, when 40 percent told Gallup they worried a “great deal” about it and 32 percent said they worried a “fair amount” about it, making a combined 72% who worried about it a great deal or fair amount.

Since then, the percentage of Americans who worry a great deal or fair amount about global warming has declined almost 24 percent (from 72 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2015).

According to another Gallup survey, Republicans who had attended college were more likely to believe that the seriousness of global warming had been exaggerated than Republicans who had a high school diploma or less.

Gallup asked: “Thinking about what is said in the news, in your view is the seriousness of global warming—generally exaggerated, generally correct or is it generally underestimated.

Among Republicans, 74 percent who were college graduates said it was “generally exaggerated,” while 70 percent of Republicans who had attended some college also said it was “generally exaggerated.” Among Republicans who had a high school diploma or less, 57 percent said it was generally exaggerated.

Among Independents who were college graduates, 46 percent said the seriousness of global warming was generally exaggerated, while among Independents who had some college 50 percent said it was generally exaggerated. Among Independents with a high school diploma or less, 39 percent said it was generally exaggerated.

25 percent of Independents who were college graduates said that the seriousness of global warming generally correct and 28 percent said it was generally underestimated.

Among Democrats who were college graduates, 15 percent said it was generally exaggerated, 36 percent said it was generally correct and 48 percent said it was generally underestimated.